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Former patient spreads a little festive cheer

A former patient spread a little festive cheer
when he dropped into the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital with
Father Christmas - and a photo booth to ensure the precious memory
was preserved. Luke Stevens, 30, runs a company called Eventbooths
with his brother Alix, which provides photos booths for parties.
However, because Luke was treated in Pendlebury he offered his time
for free.

Patients who are unable to leave the hospital
to see Father Christmas were treated to their own personal visit
and had their photo taken to provide proof that he knows where
every child is on Christmas Day. They could also dress up in the
various props that Evenbooths brought along and were given a
photo.

Luke said: "As a child I had a bad accident
which saw me spend sometime in Pendlebury Children's Hospital. The
staff there were great and helped me through the whole ordeal.
Christmas is a hard time for children that are being treated in
hospital and so I wanted to do something that would try and help
keep there spirits up. The booth brings fun and laughter to anyone
that goes inside and so I thought it would be great to get the kids
in there with Santa with lots of wigs and costumes to spread the
festive joy. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces was great
and I look forward to doing it next year."

Play Specialist Manager at RMCH, Susan
Fairclough said: "It was very generous of Luke to give up his time
to make the festive season that little bit more special for our
young patients. However, the staff also got in on the act too so it
was a great day for everyone!"